On the treadmill...

I thought I was done with this hydrotherapy business but then I found myself not only back at that scary place, but on a treadmill submerged in water to boot. I thought the pool was hard enough, but this was like climbing a mountain!

After 20 hydrotherapy sessions...

Let's just say I still don't love the pool, but look how much my swimming has improved! I think it's also helped with my walking. Now if I could only get the ramp down. I'm sure I'll get there some day, I've managed to tackle everything else they've thrown my way!

A clean bill of health, sort of...

Yesterday marked seven weeks from when I got my casts off. I went back to my old stomping grounds, 5th Ave. Vet Hospital, and Dr. Pacchiana said things look good - not perfect - but good. I am still not allowed to run and jump like your average dog, but I am allowed to graduate out of this walkabout harness that I think gives me control issues when I walk. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking it - after all, it allowed me to have a life when I used to be carrying around two behemoth-sized casts on my arms, but let's face it, it looks kind of silly. I am not sure that I'll ever walk more than a block or two without getting tired or achy but my people get that and that's A-ok with them.

Mom and dad also got a bit of a lecture from Dr. P - at which point I dropped my head - about my weight. Turns out they are doing me a major disservice by spoiling me with treats, steak bones (mom's a veg, go figure) and all the other junk I adore. Seems I carry 60% of my weight in my front arms, and, well, the extra weight doesn't help my walking. DAMN! I even heard them talking to grandma about cutting down on all things treats - that means all those yellow bags stuffed with Beggin' Strips aren't going to be as forthcoming as they used to be. Hopefully I can make their jobs easier by not doing as much begging as I do. Yea I know, doubtful -- well at least it's documented that I said I would "try"!

The good news is that after 14 months of weekly appointments at the hospital - all the wrapping, picking and prodding, pill-popping and injections - is over. I think it was bitter sweet for mom and dad and Dr. P but probably more sweet than bitter. I just wanted to say how lucky I am to have everyone in my life - Mayor's Alliance, mom and dad, Dr. P, Chase and all my lady friends at 5th Ave., not to mention TWO sets of grandmas and grandpas, Uncle Felix and so many more. With all my heart and all four legs, thank you.

My first hydrotherapy session...

I had my first hydrotherapy session at Water For Dogs in Manhattan yesterday. I was terrified to say the least but as the session went on it began to "sink in" that I wasn't getting out of the pool! The therapists have recommended an intense 20, half hour sessions for me, two to three times per week. Ugh! This better come with major rewards in the form of soft, juicy treats!

Doing the froggy...

Three weeks out of casts, and not walking quite like a dog yet, but at least I've got the froggy pose down!!

Ella's elbows...

It's been a very long time coming, but my elbows are finally out of casts! After one week of graduating from hard casts to soft casts, the Dr. decided to remove them both, yesterday.

It's an exciting time for me and for my mom and dad, but unfortunately I still need to take it slow. I'm not 100% there quite yet, in fact, I may never be. I will always walk with a limp and there is already arthritis in my left arm. That said, I've always been a happy dog, and now I'm even happier.

We will be checking in with Dr. P in one week to see what the rehab course should look like and then we'll do x-rays in six to eight weeks. More updates to come...

Close but no cigar...

I had x-rays yesterday, about six weeks since the surgery was done to remove the hardware from my elbows. Dr. P was hesitant to have me go from having a ton of support (with the splints) to no support at all - I was bummed, but I get it. And he's the boss. So rather than remove the casts all together he downsized me to soft bandages without any splints.

It's not easy without all the splint support - I'm walking kind of gingerly, but I hear it will get better.
And if I do well over the next couple of weeks, the casts will come off for good, BUT, my activity will still have to be limited.

A walk in the park...

Ok, I was sitting... but still.

This was my Sunday: Reedu, Jason, sun, bone, Prospect Park = Happiness!

Injections...

Ella's long bout with an infection that won't seem to go away (as a result of the plates and screws that were in her arms for a year), has had her on antibiotics since last June.

Even though the plates, screws and pins are out now, it seems the infection is not 100% cleared up. According to her Dr., the infection is resistant to just about every single antibiotic in the pill form. That leaves us with only one antibiotic the infection is NOT resistant to which happens to be given by injection only. Yikes!

We could either bring her in to the vet once a day for 10 days and pay $80 per visit, or we can administer the shots ourselves once a day for 10 days and have it cost a fraction of the overall price. Bringing her in to the vet once a week to have her bandages changed is difficult enough, so of course we chose the latter.

And what a pin-and-needles comedy it has been each morning! Let's just say I have a new-found respect for nurses and vet techs, I really do.

Jason has been administering the shots and I have gladly taken a back seat as his assistant. I prepare the syringe then hold her head and speak lovingly to her as Jason injects and shoots her up. Then when it is all-said-and-done I reward her with a piece of bacon.

Three down, seven more to go and hopefully good riddance to this God forsaken infection!

Home and resting...

Ella's home and resting -- we were actually able to bring her home last night, a day earlier than we thought. We've been through three other post-surgeries with her, but each time never fails to feel like the first.

She's in two casts with splints for added support and she's still sort of coming off the anesthesia. She's also on a pain medication that makes her very out of it. The good news is that her appetite is strong and she's even determined to walk, which we try to curtail when we catch her doing it.

The only thing different this time is that there's a tube running out of her right leg which is then stitched to her skin with a small plastic balloon dangling down. In short, its a drainage system to get rid of any excess blood, and most importantly, the infection she had in that leg. It's a bit of a pain in the butt to manage, but at least it comes out Tuesday when we take her in for a follow-up.

She also got spayed so the stitches in her elbow and belly will come out in about 10 more days. Because the spay got done, this should be the very last surgery our little girl ever has to have.

I will likely not update this blog again for another four to six weeks when she gets xrays done. I hope to report good news and share some photos then.

Surgery update...

It's been a long day. Jason dropped Ella off at around 8:15 this morning and we just received word from the Dr. at 7:45 tonight that the surgery is over and that everything went well. The plates and screws are out of her elbows and she's all stitched up and bandaged up. They even had enough time to spay her!

We won't really know more until we visit with her tomorrow night during the hospital's visiting hours. Most of all though, we look forward to Friday when we can pick her up. I will have more to write about then - for now, we are just happy that the most difficult part is behind us. Hopefully, this will be the last time Ella will ever have to go through this.

Moving forward...

There's some good news to report! Ella had x-rays yesterday - it had been about two months since her last set. We were told that things look good enough to move forward. While this is great news, the bad news is that it's not 100% completely healed. Still, we've never been given a date to look forward to, so the light that's now shining at the end of this long tunnel is a nice, and much welcomed change.

The important news is that Ella goes in for surgery - to have the metal plates and screws removed that are holding her elbows together - Wednesday morning. If all goes well and her bones don't fall apart upon removal, they'll also spay her. I should note that there may be some complications along the way but I feel it is only worth delving into if they arise.

When Ella gets out of surgery some might be startled to see her in two casts again. Ella's casts will both have splints in them which will give her some stability, support and confidence when she walks. The only downside is that it could take up to eight weeks before she reaches the point of walking without them.

Feeling anxious and hopeful right now. I will be sure to post again Wednesday night when we learn how the surgery went.

Waiting and healing...

Ella had an appointment at the vet yesterday for more x-rays. It has only been four weeks since the last set, but I think we all needed to know, and see, that she is indeed still healing.

The Dr. said he saw some progression, but that the two bones are not completely joined yet. So... we wait, patiently, as we have been. In the meantime, Ella hopped out of the hospital decked out in a pink cast clad with Easter eggs. Very cute.

We won't be doing x-rays for some time, possibly 6 - 8 more weeks. Hopefully the next time I post, I will be able to deliver the news we've all been waiting for. Until then...

Holding our breath...

It's been hard to summon up the effort to post... we were delivered a blow at the 4-month x-ray mark. We were told that from two months to four moths, there hadn't been much healing. It was devastating to say the least and I just couldn't muster up the effort to write about it.

In any case, the day we got the news, the Dr. decided to try something new by removing the splint from Ella's cast, thus leaving her with a soft cast and in turn forcing her joints to work harder and to hopefully fuse. We brought her back in after four weeks in a soft cast, and while we were bracing for the worst, we were met with the optimism. It appeared he had seen more healing than her prior set of x-rays.

We were happy. Elated in fact. But we still have a ways to go so we don't want to celebrate just yet. Ella is still in a soft cast and is due for her next set of x-rays on April 12. In the meantime, Ella turned two years old on March 21. We made her birthday the day she was rescued and brought to Animal Care and Control. It seemed fitting... after all, it's the day she got a second lease on life.

Blog neglect...

I almost headed this post "Ella neglect" and immediately realized that's not good at all, Ella is anything BUT neglected! But her blog on the other hand, now that's neglected!

Ella is doing really, really well - we have x-rays scheduled for this coming Monday which will be 4 months since the surgery was done to fuse her right elbow. We are truly hopefuly that everything will look good and that we can schedule her last and final surgery to remove all the pins, screws and plates from her elbows.

She walks around our tiny apartment now which is something she was never able to do, and she understands her limits. She knows she can't climb up the couch or get down from the couch. And I think she knows she'll never be able to run around and chase squirrels, but then again, she's a Brooklyn dog... there aren't many squirrels to come around here.

Ella's first snow storm...

WOW - what is this stuff? It feels great on my arms! Whatever it is feels good, tastes good and keeps me on my toes. And when I tinkle it melts it away, wow!